Page 22 of The Hearts We Fumble
She trails off as Susie drops off our drinks, taking Tatum’s order before disappearing again.
Tatum folds up her menu, sliding it behind the condiment caddy like she’s settling in for a story she’s determined to get out of me.
I take a sip of my Sprite, the cool carbonation fizzing against my tongue, stalling for time.
“There’s not much to tell,” I say, keeping my voice even, hoping she doesn’t catch the way it changes at the mention of Zane’s name.
Tatum just arches a brow, waiting.
“He was in Keaton to pick up some paperwork from his physical therapist’s office. It just so happened to be near the Alpha Nu house. He saw me waiting for an Uber and offered me a ride home.”
Tatum’s smirk is instant. “Well, isn’t that just…convenient.”
I roll my eyes, setting my drink down with a soft clink.
“Annoying is more like it,” I mutter. “But yeah, convenient, I guess. Since we were both heading in the same direction anyway.”
She doesn’t buy it.
Tatum leans in, resting her arms on the table, her gaze too sharp, too knowing. “You know, you haven’t really told me what happened between you two.”
My arms fold tightly over my chest, a subconscious effort to contain the way my body wants to react—to keep my expression neutral and not let anything slip.
“What do you mean?” I deflect. “He’s been my brother’s best friend for as long as I can remember.”
She nods slowly, but her skepticism is practically palpable.
“So you say. But that doesn’t explain why him giving you a ride home clearly got under your skin.”
I exhale, glancing toward the window like maybe the answer is out there, somewhere beyond the glass, beyond this town, beyond the past that still lingers between me and Zane like an unresolved storm.
I’ve only ever talked to Reed about my history with Zane.
And that was only because I was trying to knock some sense into him—trying to get him to see what he had right in front of him before he lost Tate.
But my story with Zane? That’s something I don’t talk about.
Because everything changed after my eighteenth birthday.
And once it did… there was no going back.
No one really knew the depth of our friendship in high school. We kept it between us.
He had been one of the only people I could talk to about my dad’s passing. No one knew him the way Zane had.
The ones who did? They were drowning in their own grief, just like me. And talking about it with them felt like reopening a wound neither of us knew how to heal.
Before I can dwell on it any longer, Susie reappears, balancing a tray with our food.
She sets down my grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fries and coleslaw, then hands Tatum her chicken wrap and salad before disappearing again.
I pick up my sandwich, but before I can take a bite, Tatum speaks up.
“You know what it’s like having an older brother.” She pauses, grabbing a fry off my plate. “Hell, Talon was ready to haul Reed’s ass out back and toss him into the bonfire when he found out about the two of you.”
She snickers at the memory, and I smirk, chewing before responding.
“Yeah, but he got over it.”
